Hello.

Although very new at posting, I have a little experience with machine tools and workshop practise. I've been a reader of MEW for a number of years, and am not totally unfamiliar with this forum.

After spending far too much of my life either doing itinerant site-based work or living in unsuitable accommodation, I have at last managed (more-or-less) to manoeuvre myself into both more local work and a place with a reasonable-sized workshop which I am in the process of setting up.

I have a few pieces of tired-but-useable machinery up and running, and a couple of small projects on the go.

Having got this far with the necessary adjustments to my life, I hope my reward will be the ability to spend a bit more time in the workshop.

Kind regards

D

Hi, thanks for your kind responses – apologies for my late reply, I'm currently in process of completing the actual move itself..

I guess that the two projects currently underway illustrate the kind of things that I enjoy doing – I'm cobbling together a Heath Robinson tool grinder from the scrapbox, mainly in order to achieve greater accuracy in such items as threading tools, and reduce the tedious cycle of "offer-up & adjust slightly"..

Whilst I'm happy grinding most tools off-hand, it IS something that I find has to be done regularly to achieve any sort of efficiency – once it's almost habitual, it's a breeze, but when one has to contemplate the moves, it's a bore.

The other project is a little Cyldon that was handed to me as a boot-sale find. The boiler was intact, as was the pipework, cylinder support bracket/port block, burner, and whistle. Rather than a thorough restoration, I've had a surprising amount of enjoyment carrying out a fairly pragmatic repair, making a fabricated flywheel, replacement cylinder and piston, and a safety valve on my little Hobbymat. I'll try and upload some pictures.

I find that I've reached that point in my life when small steam engines are starting to exert something of a pull.. I will have to build one from scratch.

Other than that, and perhaps in common with many other members here, I carry out the usual range of domestic repairs & replacements, and the occasional bit of free ("I don't suppose you could make me a…&quot motor engineering for friends and family.